Occupations

While the economy of
Rappahannock County has historically been based upon
agriculture, it no longer employs as high a percentage of
the work force as once was the case. Indeed, the decade
of 1990-2000 saw the most precipitate decline in
Agricultural employment in our county’s history.
Although the percentage of persons employed in that
sector of the economy increased slightly between
1980-1990, it is still far below the 1970 figure, which
in turn was lower than figures for previous decades.
There have been a number of major investments made in
agriculture over the past four years, particularly in
heretofore “niche” areas such as grapes and
organic products that may reverse this trend. While
agriculture is still the foundation of the County's
economy, more residents depend on other sectors of the
economy for their main employment needs.

More
generally, between 1980 and 2000, the total number of
employed persons increased from 2,517 in 1980 to 3,375 in
1990 and to 3,591 in 2000. Reflecting the rural character
of the County, production, crafts, operations, farming
and general labor of all kinds were represented in
Rappahannock County at a rate greater than that for the
State.

It is worth
noting that the proportion of workers who are classified
by the Bureau of the Census as self-employed remains
substantially higher in Rappahannock than many other
jurisdictions; 612 of total employment of 3,591. This
translates to 17.1% of workers as opposed to lesser
percentages, generally in single digits, in adjacent
counties. Reflecting the increasing commuting trend
towards the governmental employment centers to the north
and east, adjacent counties had an average of 15% of
their worker populations employed in Federal, State or
Local governments. Rappahannock, in an increase of over
5% since 1990, had 17% of its workforce employed by a
governmental entity.

The County
unemployment rate has historically lagged behind that of
adjacent jurisdictions, the Commonwealth as a whole, and
of the nation. This is not inconsistent with the
experience of other rural communities, whose citizens'
access to employment opportunities are constrained by
transportation limitations. Be that as it may, between
1990 and 2000 the County’s unemployment rate has
precipitately declined, to the point that it generally
has the lowest rate in the Rappahannock-Rapidan Region
(RRRC). In the year 2000, the unemployment rate was 1.5%,
and it has not exceeded 3% through 2003.

The
importance of women in the civilian labor force has grown
dramatically in the decades since the World War II, with
Rappahannock experiencing the same trend as the nation,
albeit at a more modest pace. The 2000 Census revealed
that approximately 1,188 women 16 years of age or older
were not in the labor force, while approximately 1,641
were. Of this latter group, only 52, or approximately 3%,
were unemployed.

This labor
force participation rate (58.0%) is slightly higher than
that of other rural areas of the United States. By
comparison Fauquier, Culpeper, Madison, Warren and Page
Counties had a female labor force participation rate of
62.0%, 58.2%, 57.6%, 59%, and 55%, respectively.

Employer Types

In contrast
to the type of occupation a person holds, employer types
describe the type of industry in which a person is
employed. Historically, one of the most conspicuous
aspects of this classification for Rappahannock County
has been the continued decline of agricultural
employment. As previously noted, this decline not only
slowed over the previous decade, but in fact underwent a
very modest resurgence.

In 1970,
20.3% of County residents were employed by the
agricultural industry. This figure dropped to 11.8% in
1980 and increased slightly to 12.1% in 1990 before
declining through 2000 as noted above. Management,
professional, and related occupations have replaced
construction as the most important industry sector in
Rappahannock County with 35.8% of those employed
registering this as their employer type in 2000. Perhaps
functioning as a mirror of the sweeping changes in
occupation in the country as a whole, the dominant
occupation sector for each Census from 1970 through 2000
has been, respectively, Agriculture, Manufacturing,
Construction and Management, Professional and
Related.

Anecdotally,
it is worth noting that Rappahannock County residents
endure the third highest average travel time to work
(34.7 minutes) of any jurisdiction in the
Commonwealth.

Major Employers

As reported
by the Virginia Employment Commission, there were 220
establishments in Rappahannock County offering some form
of employment in 2002. During the fourth quarter of 2002,
these establishments employed 1,351 persons with average
weekly wages per worker being $574.

The largest
employer in the County is the Rappahannock County School
Board.